SASD Headlines

It's no secret that the fields of science, technology, engineering
and mathematics represent a host of American jobs that go unfilled
for a lack of trained, qualified workers.

If that is ever to change, then education will need to lead the
way, and a pre-engineering curriculum called Project Lead The Way
appears poised to do so.

PLTW, first introduced 10 years ago in a dozen high schools in
New York state, has arrived in the Sheboygan Area School District
this year in the form of a pilot program at Farnsworth Middle School.
All of the school's sixth-graders will cycle through it this year,
and the district wants it in all three of its middle schools and
both high schools in 2009-10.

Although the finish line may be years away, the bottom line is
simple: Grow engineers.

"There will be nothing but jobs for these kids," said
Mark Ellis, who teaches PLTW as a technology instructor at Farnsworth. "Good-paying
jobs, in all phases of engineering."

Already, PLTW has made Farnsworth's computer lab the envy of
the district as students perform three-dimensional modeling on
26 dual-platform Macintosh computers, acquired at no cost to the
district via four community partnerships.

The Frank and Frieda Brotz Foundation, Wigwam Mills, Donohue
and Associates and Gardner-Thomas Industries stepped up to equip
the lab. Naming rights to the lab at North High School already
have been sold for $75,000, and a similar contribution is being
sought for South High.

In-kind donations have been made to PLTW by Curt G. Joa Inc.,
Rockline Industries, Morgan Aircraft and the John Michael Kohler
Arts Center.

"This really seems to be hitting home," Tim Baneck,
the district's coordinator of career and technical education, said
of PLTW. "There is high demand in our community for engineers
and for positions with those skills.

"Jobs that used to be manual in the past are now moving
to an engineering skill set. Many employers understand that, and
we think this curriculum is a way to bridge the gap and meet the
needs of our community."

The district's role is to supply teachers trained in PLTW, for
which Ellis attended a two-week "boot camp" in August
at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Next summer, at least four
more teachers will receive the training, which is geared toward
the use of Autodesk Inventor software.

The fit seems to be a good one for Ellis, 47, who has been in
the district since 1985 and at Farnsworth for almost half that
time. He has a master's degree in instructional technology, and
he likes the way PLTW's hands-on, team-oriented approach turns
students loose to create and gives them a taste of what real engineers
do.

"The kids seem to be loving it," Ellis said. "They're
rising to the challenge. It's making them stretch. The key is the
application of math and science concepts.

"The point isn't to make all students into engineers, but
to expose them to the concepts involved."

As students remain in the program, the payoffs start to add up.
At the high school level, some PLTW courses will count as science
credits toward graduation, and the Department of Public Instruction
is advocating for equivalency credits to be accepted by colleges
and universities throughout the state.

PLTW is now in 3,000 schools in all 50 states. Baneck calls it
a "building block" program for the Sheboygan district,
an investment in the future, and grant money for equipment and
software will be needed for it to continue.

"Our five-year plan is based on the success of this first year," he
said. "One measure of that will be the interest of the kids."